When you solve a word problem, the first thing you need to do is decide which information in the problem is needed to solve the problem and which is not.

For example, suppose you have this problem to solve:

Jake earns $5 an hour doing yard work in his neighborhood after school. On Monday, he spent 2 hours raking leaves for Mrs. Wilson. On Tuesday, he had a cub scout meeting. On Wednesday, he spent 2 hours pulling weeds and sweeping for Mr. Lakeland. How many hours did he work all together?